Who Do You Think You Are? Live

The world’s largest family history show

THE NEC BIRMINGHAM | 6 - 8 APRIL 2017

DNA Workshop

The study of emigrants from Britain can help both the emigrant’s descendants and the British left behind in tracing their own family lines back by triangulation, especially before 1800. As most DNA surname projects will contain a predominance of American members, it can help having a knowledge of the basics of American family history. The British can be in a strong position to help in research efforts to mutual benefit. The presentation will concentrate on emigration from England to America, 1606/7 to 1800, where survival of shipping lists can be rare.

This talk is for people who may already have some experience or knowledge of basic Y-DNA testing, but are beginners in the area of SNP testing for the Y chromosome. You may have been advised to consider a SNP test like a single SNP or the Big Y, or you may have realised you need to try SNP testing to get more useful genetic results. We will look at the best tests and strategies to use when starting out with SNP testing, and how it can enhance your surname or family research.

An autosomal DNA test gives you matches with your genetic cousins on all your family lines. The databases are growing at a rapid rate and now provide the potential to confirm your genealogical research and to solve long-standing family mysteries. This presentation will provide a practical approach to dealing with your matches and interpreting your results.

DNA testing can appear to be a dark hole – an abyss – of test choices, terminology and confusion on how it aids your genealogy. Explore the major tests, including Y-DNA, mitochondrial DNA, X-Chromosome DNA, and autosomal DNA, and understand how they assist particular sections of your pedigree. Learn the fundamentals that bring you to the light, allowing you to make informed decisions on what test will work best for your goals.

Y-DNA is inherited along the direct male line in the same way as the surname is passed from father to son. It is thus an excellent tool for surname research. There are over 8000 surname projects at Family Tree DNA and the body of expertise acquired by the genetic genealogy community over the past 15 years means that there is a lot of support out there for anyone who wants to set up their own project. The potential benefits of joining and running a surname project will be reviewed.

On 5th April 1945 a well spoken and smartly dressed woman left a small baby (later called Linda) in the care of a couple in a King's Cross flat whilst she went to book a room in a Russell Square hotel. She never returned... Julia Bell will explain how autosomal DNA unlocked this mystery and how she was able to find Linda’s biological parent. Who was the other parent? The answer again lies in autosomal DNA.

As DNA collections continue to emerge, representing individuals sampled from ever more locations, genetic ancestry testing companies are able to provide increasingly precise and detailed information about customers’ ancestry. Typically these companies compare customers’ DNA to that of individuals sampled from different geographic locations, and then provide percentage breakdowns reflecting which of these locations contain a similar genetic make-up as the customer. But what do these percentages mean?

Family Tree DNA now hosts over 9000 different surname, regional and haplogroup projects, all run by volunteer project administrators. Running your own project is an opportunity to become a citizen scientist and make exciting discoveries about your particular surname, region or haplogroup of interest. This presentation will explain how to get the most from your DNA project and how to make effective use of the many admin tools provided.

Linda Magellan will cover all the basics about DNA testing – the three main types of DNA test, what each one can do for you, and what kind of questions DNA can help you to answer in your own particular family tree research. If you have ever thought about doing a DNA test (or even if you haven’t) this presentation will leave you with all the information you need to dip your big toe in the gene pool.

We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. Cookies perform functions like recognising you each time you visit and delivering advertising messages that are relevant to you. Read more here